Commentary:

I usually add some mushrooms.

The traditional Grasso way to eat this is to smoosh it out onto your plate in a layer about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick and eat inward in a spiral as it cools: The cheese holds the heat worse that pizza cheese.

Frost while warm with Quick icing or sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

Quick White Icing:

Mix 1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners sugar an 1 1/2 Tbsp milk with a

fork or whisk until smooth, use immediately.

Commentary:

This was the smaller(!) of Mom's two Stollen recipes, so she gave it to me when I first got a place of my own. She got it from a magazine, but the amounts of fruits and nuts are increased here, and I have added a few notes.

I learned the hard way over the years that it is vital to let everything be at room temperature before the second rising or the middle of the stollen won't cook right.

Making ravioli was a two day process. When I was in high-school, I used to go over and help make them, spending the night. The raviolis were made the day before and left to dry overnight between cloths on the bed in the spare room.

Nonna always made a roast and salad and had dessert stuff, but everybody filled up on ravioli, and she always complained because nobody ate any of the other stuff. She used to make more than 20 dozen in the batch.

When her sisters Maria and Theresa came from Italy to visit (I was in about 7th grade) all three of them got together to make raviolis. They all used the big rolling pin.

Ravioli filling:

The ravioli filling was made from leftovers, so all of the meats were

pre-cooked: there was usually sweet Italian sausage and roast beef and

turkey ( from Christams dinner) and spinach in it, with some grated

cheese to help bind it. Nonna ground everything up very fine using a

lunula, which is a crescent-shaped blade with two wooden handles,

on a cutting board that had gotten hollow over the years.

Ravioli wrappers:

Dump a pile of flour on a clean counter and break some eggs into it,

then knead until smooth.

Nonna rolled out the dough using a rolling pin that was about 3 feet long and 4 inches in diameter. It was impressive watching her do it.

The dough needs to be rolled very very thin, preferably into a squarish shape.

Making the Raviolis:

Put scant teaspoons of filling about one and a half inches in from the edge of the dough, fold the dough over the top of the row of filling, squishing out the most of the air, and use a crimping wheel to seal and separate the raviolis. Lay them out on cloths and cover with another cloth. Let the pasta dry before cooking.